42 ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



much of the character of the "rosette" in the Fraterculinw, and has 

 I)robably a simihir fate after the breeding season. 



The other three pieces are distinctly and separately deciduous, as 

 shown by the series brought home by me. It will be sufficient in the 

 following to refer to two specimens only, No. 89095 and No. 92949, as 

 they are fully representative. Both are females, and taken during the 

 first part of July, at a time when the young are still in the nests. 



In No. 89095 all the basal pieces are very distinctly individualized, 

 and separated by deep grooves, the post nasal border of the " cuirass " 

 in fact already commencing to separate from the underlying stratum. 

 This is the bird from which pi. v, fig. 1, has been drawn. 



In No. 92949, which was taken alive on the nest, containing an egg 

 with developed young in it, is already partially moulting, as the " orlet" 

 has fallen off, and tbe intermediate pieces (fig. 1 d) are cracked in a 

 couijle of places, while the cuirass is still firmly attached. In both 

 specimens the anterior, constantly horny parts, are flaking off in thin 

 and irregular chips. These being the only facts in my possession con- 

 cerning the moult of the horny basal pieces of the bill, I abstain from 

 any generalizations. 



As to the moult of the plumage, I have the observation to ofl'er that 

 the wing feathers are moulted after the hatching of the eggs is finished. 

 I received living specimens of this species simultaneous with those 

 mentioned under Simorliyiwlins pygmccus. Tbe appearance and moult 

 of the wing feathers in these birds were so completely identical that 

 every word applied to one species is equally applicable to the other; 

 hence no need of repeating here what is said under the head of the 

 latter species. 



Tbe living specimens could not be induced to take any food. They 

 walked semi-upright when moving, like all the members of the family, 

 and such was their position during rest, too, as I have also often ascer- 

 tained when watching tbe free living birds ; later on, when growing- 

 weaker, they would lie down on their bellies. 



Their pupils were very large, and tbe white iris in the living bird, 

 consequently, had the appearance of a narrow ring only. The case was 

 reversed in the dead bird, in which the whole eye was white, with a small 

 black point in tbe middle. 



The pending post-ocular tuft of white feathers was kept close to the 

 body, not forming a bristling crest. These feathers are erectil** M ^he 

 will of the bird, but are usually carried closed together. 



